Archive for the 'windows xp' Category

Here I would like to record some evidence for an annoying ‘feature’ in Windows XP (I have Pro & SP2 installed).

Picture the scene: I am browsing an article using Mozilla Firefox 1.5 (my default browser). The browser window is not maximised so I can see other windows underneath. My email client, Mozilla Thunderbird 1.5, is maximised so clearly I can’t see any windows under that, though there are some. I am using a Dell wired, optical mouse with a scrollwheel plugged into a USB port on my laptop, also a Dell.

The article I am reading is spread across a number of pages and ‘Next’ and ‘Prev’ links are available at the bottom of each page. I read a number of pages, clicking ‘Next’ as usual, and everything is fine.

On about the seventh page, as I’m moving my mouse down the page towards the ‘Next’ link, it takes it upon itself to scoot off towards the top right corner of the screen where the Close button is located for the Thunderbird window. The popup message ‘Close’ pops up. Somewhat irritated I bring the mouse back down to the intended link and carry on reading.

What’s going on? This happens maybe a couple of times a day, but I don’t keep statistics. This is the first time I’ve documented what’s happened, but I’ve previously searched a couple of online forums for advice and mentioned it in an email to a friend.